Association Between Cataract Diagnosis and Depressive Symptoms in Peruvian Adults Aged 50 Years and Older: Analysis of a Nationally Representative Survey.

PURPOSE: Cataract has been linked to depressive symptoms, yet the contribution of functional distance-vision impairment remains understudied in Latin America. We examined the association between cataract diagnosis(with and without distance-vision difficulty) and depressive symptoms among Peruvian adults aged ≥ 50 years who had undergone a prior ophthalmological evaluation.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study analyzed data from the 2018-2019 Survey of Peru. The analytic sample comprised adults aged ≥ 50 years who reported a lifetime ophthalmological evaluation and completed the PHQ-9 (n = 20,320). Depressive symptoms were defined as a PHQ-9 score ≥ 10. Analyses used complex-survey weights with the subpopulation option. Weighted chi-square and t tests, and Poisson regression estimating prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), were performed.

RESULTS

Depressive symptoms were present in 8.7% (95% CI, 7.6-9.8) of adults aged ≥ 50 years, and 14.5% (95% CI, 13.1-16.0) had a cataract diagnosis. Participants with cataract and distance-vision difficulty had a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than those without cataract (adjusted PR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.08-2.61); no association was found for cataract without distance-vision difficulty (adjusted PR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.65-1.62). Higher wealth was protective: rich (adjusted PR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.42-1.00) and very rich (adjusted PR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.32-0.95) quintiles showed lower prevalence of depressive symptoms. Older age, female sex, diabetes, and lower education were independently associated with depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Among Peruvian adults aged ≥ 50 years with prior ophthalmological evaluation, cataract accompanied by distance-vision difficulty, but not cataract alone, is independently associated with depressive symptoms.